Alistair Campbell

Last Friday I went to a function room at Chester Race Course to hear a talk given by Alistair Campbell, the former director of communications to Tony Blair, and one of the key architects of new Labour. It was a brilliant evening; Campbell is the master of presentations and his anecdotes from his years in power were illuminating and candid. He took questions from the audience and answered with honesty and humour.

Alistair Campbell at the Chester Literary Festival

 Campbell is in the process of publishing his extensive diaries that cover the Blair period. They are bound to be important when historians come to assess the achievements of New Labour in power. I am sure to read them. However, it is not always the diaries of the main players that capture an era in politics. Take, for example, the Thatcher years. How many have read Maggie's autobiography? Were there any significant diaries produced by those close to Thatcher? Probably not. It is the diaries of the much lesser known figure Alan Clark that has provided the best insight into politics during the 1980s and 90s. The same maybe true of the Blair years. Long after the autobiographies of Blair, Mandelson, and indeed Campbell, have faded on the shelves, it may well be that the diaries of Chris Mullin entitled 'The View from the Foothills' is the literary work that captures the essence of New Labour. They are beautifully written and always self deprecating. If you have not read this book, then do so.

The Past is another country.

High Street in the first decade of the 20th century.

I have been wandering Caerwys looking at the modern day places where the old photographs (from the collection that have been gathered to go in the book) were taken. However, try as I might it just does not seem the same place. Black and white (or sepia) images do create a sense of antiquity; it hard to grasp sometimes that the 19th century was in colour. Anyway, I am going to try and recreate some of the earliest images to show what I mean. The above image is the view I have from my front garden, if my front garden had been there in the first part of the 20th century, that is. Last week I went out and tried to stand in pretty much the same place, but even with the sepia tones added the same view is almost unrecognisable.

The same street in 2010.

Gone to the birds.

Today I have been to the Red Kite feeding station in Rhayader, Powys. The farmer at Gigrin Farm has been feeding the Red Kites for many years; it has boosted the population of the birds and made them the symbol of the entire county. The birds know the time when the farmer puts the meat out on the field; they circle high above watching for the tractor with the food. The public can watch from a number of hides. The scene when the birds descend from the sky is breathtaking. I took some photographs, but they don't justice to the spectacle.

The 1950s and the 11+.

I have been thinking about the 1950s. The decade before I was born seems a strange unfamiliar place; take, for example, the 11+ examination. In their last year  in primary school all the children sat an examination to determine which secondary school they would attend. Those who passed (around 20 to 30%) went to the grammar school, and the others went to the secondary modern. Passing or failing the 11+ could shape the rest of your life. My parents recall the precise moment they received the momentous news; a new bike was normally the reward for success. However it also meant that friendships developed during the primary school years were often ended as in many respects the grammar school child and the secondary modern child would move in different circles.
Even today there are counties in England that still run the 11+; some campaign to bring it back nation wide (although of course they are the people that assume their child or grandchild will be amongst the successful ones). The 11+ was phased out in most places during the 1960s to be replaced by the comprehensive school. I have a copy of the Flintshire 11+ examination for 1954; it is a measure of historical change that few children of 10 or 11 in 2010 could even attempt many of these questions. We should not worry though as the modern child can achieve things that were unimaginable to their counterparts in the 1950s. The following is a small selection of questions from the Maths and English section of the paper. How many can you do?

Photo mystery solved!

This photograph is rather a mystery. The inscrption on the bottom of the image reads 'CHURCH PARADE CAERWYS 1909'. It was probably associated with the military training camps held around Caerwys in the years before the First World War (the Ministry of Defence still holds training exercises on land around Moel y Parc). However, the sheer scale of the event captured in this picture is intriguing. It shows at least 8 priests and what appears to be hundreds of soldiers on the hill side. It is not obvious where this event took place, although I am inclined to think it is on the slopes of Moel y Parc. Military camps were a feature of life in Caerwys in the Edwardian years. Can anybody can shed light on this image?

UPDATE!
The mystery is solved! I was shown an article from a magazine published nearly 20 years ago entitled 'The Great Battle of Caerwys Camp' written by the late Tom Lloyd Roberts of Caerwys. The troops shown on the field near Moel y Parc (I was right there) were part of an enormous military exercise taking place during August 1909. In all 12000 soldiers and officers took part, and many were on that hill side photograph. Considering that the population of Caerwys was only around 600, the arrival of such vast numbers must have placed a strain on the local population. I will find out more as soon as possible. My thanks to George Gallagher for drawing this article to my attention.

My day at the football.

Restricted view from my seat. We also gave Liverpool two goals to aim at - still they could not score.

Who ate all the pies?

500 balloons.

Shaking hands (for now anyway)

Look carefully - only Liverpool on the pitch! They still could not score.

The offending item.

I can't begin to define why I like going to the football. I first went to see Everton in the early 70s; then in the later years of that decade I hardly missed a game. I continued to support the blues through the 80s - even attending the 1985 FA Cup Final on the eve of my university finals. In the 90s I hardly went at all, In recent years though  I have rediscovered the habit of going to Goodison Park and supporting the mighty blues. Today was an especially good game, with Everton beating their neighbours Liverpool by two goals to nil.  As I said, it is hard to define why I like going; after all, it costs around £50, the seats are the size of table spoons, and the facilities leave much to be desired. But for 90 minutes I can stop being Mr Responsible and yell totally unfair things at people I don't know. The referee is always short sighted, and always wrong (except when giving Everton a penalty). The opposing team are always vicious thugs, and my team always innocent of any misdemeanour. So in short I can pay £50 and become an irrational fanatic, and later, feeling relieved of the tension, return to Normalville, carrying on as if nothing had happened.

Caerwys Dad's Army - they don't like it up 'em!

This is one of my favourite photographs to be included in the book. It shows Caerwys Home Guard marching through the town in 1941 - it was the funeral of one of their comrades. They were nothing like their hapless counterparts on TV as by the end of the war they were well trained in the use of many weapons. This 'D' Company was composed mainly of men from the town; by the time they stood down in 1944 they numbered 26. If the Germans had invaded in 1940 these men would have been in the front line.

Caerwys History Book

Lloyd George and Herbert Lewis.

                                            
The meeting with the publisher of the Caerwys book turned out to be rather interesting. I had a dispute with another member of the committee about the balance of images and text. The issues though go down to an understanding of what is meant by 'History'. I was engaged to write a semi academic History  and for me that always means an investigation into the past. In other words, why things happend, and why they happened in quite the way they did. The other side of the 'past' is heritage. That includes National Trust type things. I enjoy visiting grand houses and the like and appreciating our heritage; but that is not the same as History. I wonder how many think of that? Perhaps the Caerwys Heritage Society might be better.

Caerwys Book

Tonight I meet the publisher of the Caerwys since Victorian times book. I hope it will be a success. There are some great images to compliment the text. This is one - it provides a pleasing optical illusion - is the man pushing his bike up the hill, or down it?

Gwyl Famau

Sang with Cor Meibion Caerwys in Cilcain tonight. Very enjoyable. Two photographers caught my attention, both snapping away annoyingly. Digital photography with endless images at no cost is worrying.